Join Mr Musing's Fantasy Premier League 2011-12

So the Barclays Premier League is nearly here, with just one week to go, and to celebrate Mr Musing is setting up a Fantasy Premier League. 


Fantasy Premier League (if you like football) is sooo addictive. You have a budget of £100m to pick the best squad you can afford and each week select a team you think will score you the most points. I am such a geek when it comes to this game.

You need to sign up at http://fantasy.premierleague.com/ and enter the pin code 1055793-248954.


To make things more competitive I have decided to run a few competitions.....



Many of you will have your own blogs/websites so the team that scores most points each months will get a banner ad on the top of my site pointing people to your website. The banner will stay up for the month. 


For the overall winner I will write a dedicated blog post, which will stay up permanently - advertising your blog/site and hopefully sending some readers/followers your way. 

I am not claiming to be Perez Hilton with a million followers but every little helps eh? 


Post your team name and blog/web address in the comments section to enter. 


Good Luck 
Mr Musing. 

Five of the Best: Men's Hi-Tops

Mr Musing loves a good pair of retro inspired hi-tops and right now there are some amazing pairs in the shops, from relatively inexpensive ones through to some eye-wateringly priced designer 'statement' offerings. If a pair of trainers doesn't come up above the shin, right now I am just not interested.

So keep those ankles warm with these beauties...

The High-End: These hi-tops from Lanvin just look pure class - although for the price I feel they should actually do the walking for you! The copper coloured patent leather and contrasting suede detailing stands out for being different to many of the other trainers I have seen. From the Spring/Summer 2011 collection, expect them to be upwards of £350. Lanvin.com.

Update: Okay, so while on holiday to Puerto Banus I succumbed to the beauty of these Lanvin hi-tops (below) and completely blew my budget buying myself a pair. 


I went for the silvery-grey colour as I figured I would get more wear out of them (I was coming up with any old excuse once I had tried them on). Unfortunately they don't actually do the walking for you but they do make you feel absolutely fabulous. 

The Collaboration: This pair of Alexander Mcqueen for Puma 'Descent' hi-tops made me a very happy boy at Christmas and are my favourite pair of trainers at the moment.

With interesting shapes and a comfortable cushioned ankle, you can wear these night or day. They also come with neon orange laces, which means you can choose to make a real stand-out statement. £225. Farfetch.com

The Understated: These Converse 'OS Academy Hi' trainers are clean and fresh in white leather, with contrasting red textile stripe detailing. A simple design, yet you'll stand out from the crowd wearing these. £65 Size.com

The Sporty: I just loved the simplicity of these 'highrise' trainers from Adidas Originals. The gold detailing contrasts nicely with the grey leather and they feature unobtrusive perforated adidas stripes. £62 shop.adidas.co.uk

The High Street: 

Okay, okay so AllSaints is not exactly the cheapest high street store but these vintage-look 'Lincoln' hi-tops are great for perfecting that scruffy care-free look. £95 AllSaints.com.

Welcome to Mr Musing: Hope You'll Stay a Little While

I deliberately didn't create a welcome post when I started this blog, I thought I'd get a few posts in first to try and set the 'tone'. But now that I have some posts under by belt (5 to be precise), I thought it was time to say a big WELCOME!

You’re probably asking yourself, 'so what's this blog all about then? And why should you bother coming back again? What have I got to offer that will keep you coming back for more?

Well I'm completely ignoring all the, probably good, advice out there telling me I should focus on my niche, because, well, frankly I don't want one. There are so many interesting things to be written about and I want to try as many of them as I can.

I just like stuff and I like to talk about stuff - all day long. In fact many people say I could talk in an empty house, and I often do, so this blog is my way of doing just that.

Oh and I also quite fancy writing professionally at some stage, so this blog will be good practice for me. Hopefully you will follow me on my journey from part-time blogger to full-time freelance writer. Either that or watch me fail miserably.

So expect musings, articles, commentary and news on a range of topics such as Music, Films, the Arts, Sports, Fashion, Food, Politics, Travel, Theatre, Lifestyle and Health & Fitness. I can be opinionated at times, frank but always honest.

Some of it will be deep and some of it extremely shallow, a bit like me really, and it's just how I would want my blog to be - a mixed bag for people who like a bit of this and a bit of that. 

Check out some of my posts below and let me know what you think so far. 

See you soon. 

Mr Musing

Paolo Troilo's Handy Works of Art

I came across an amazingly fabulous artist at the Mondo art Gallery, whilst in Postino, Italy last week (more about Positano later - a beautiful place by the way).


The artist is Paolo Troilo and some of his works are shown below. The paintings are all in the image of the artist himself and he paints using his hands - I loved the rawness of this and found his paintings really powerful, especially the way he appears to be fighting or struggling with himself. The images look violent and masculine, almost erotic even and I found look looking at his work quite emotional, not something that always happens to me.

I was too scared to ask for the price of his work at the gallery and at the moment I am still dreaming that I will one day be able to buy one! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any exhibitions of his work in London.

Update: I am so in love with Paolo's work that I had to feature him again on my new blog Mr Musing where you can see more of his work and a video of him painting.